Herschel Grammar School
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| Motto | (current) Achievement, challenge, excellence (previous) Negotiis Pares (Equal to the task) |
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| Established | approx 1952 |
| Type | Grammar foundation school |
| Religion | Secular |
| Headteacher | Mrs Joanne Rockall |
| Specialism | Technology College |
| Location | Northampton Avenue Slough Berkshire SL1 3BW England |
| Local authority | Slough |
| DfE URN | 110103 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 862 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | www.herschel.slough.sch.uk |
Herschel Grammar School is a selective co-educational grammar foundation school and Technology College in Slough, Berkshire. The current headteacher is Mrs Joanne Rockall.[1] The school has around 900 pupils, 250 of whom are in the Sixth Form.
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[edit] History
The school was established in town centre buildings formerly occupied by Slough Secondary School in William Street (a site now occupied by the Slough campus of Thames Valley University) in about 1952. In 1958, the school moved to a purpose-built site on Northampton Avenue, occupying land that had (before the Second World War) been used as 'Timbertown', an area of hastily constructed temporary houses.[2] The school has remained at Northampton Avenue, although for the 1988/89 academic year it temporarily moved to the site of the former Orchard Secondary Modern School while the permanent buildings were refurbished after damage to the roof in the storms of 1987.[3]
Within its present buildings, the school has had a number of different names and forms, including:
- Slough Technical School
- Slough Technical High School (to 1972)
- Herschel High School (1972 to 1984)
- Sir William Herschel Grammar School (from 1984)
- Herschel Grammar School
In 2004, the school completed a multimillion pound sports centre, which now serves as Herschel Sports to the public when out of school hours. The sports complex includes a full-size astro-turf football, hockey pitch, four full-size tennis courts, six full-size indoor badminton courts, one full-size indoor basketball court, a dance studio and changing facilities with lockers.
[edit] Sixth form
The school has a sixth form of about 250 pupils, both from the lower school and pupils who have moved from other schools. The sixth form is a part of the Herschel Consortium. The pupils in the sixth form have a common room that is used for studying as well as more general recreational and relaxing activities during lesson time. In September 2006 a silent study room was built inside the sixth form block and pupils are timetabled to spend one or two hours of non-lesson time in a supervised study room.
In 2010 a number of students in the sixth form managed to secure places on courses such as medicine while others received offers at universities such as Cambridge and the LSE.[4]
[edit] Prefects
The school has a prefect system. In the latter part of Year 12, twelve prefects including a Head Boy & Head Girl are elected by the students and teachers in the Sixth Form and Year 11. The prefects occupy their posts until the end of Year 13.
[edit] HGS Student Newspaper
In December 2009, the school launched a student publication: “HGS”. It provides a light hearted and more student orientated account on the goings on at Herschel, with an eclectic mix of articles ranging from interviews with teachers, agony aunt advice pages and a Big Issues section. Since March 2010 it has also included a “Student Spotlight” aimed at celebrating notable pupils who have excelled in extracurricular activities.
[edit] School links
Herschel Grammar School is the founding member-school of the Herschel Consortium - a co-operation of the sixth forms of Herschel Grammar School, the Westgate School, and Baylis Court School, all of which are within the same district of Slough.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Iain Lee, broadcaster
- Brian McDermott, footballer and 2009-10 caretaker manager of Reading FC.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Herschel Grammar School website Accessed 13 September 2009
- ^ pp 75, 82, The Changing Face of Slough, Slough Museum, Breedon Books, 2003
- ^ pp 82, The Changing Face of Slough, Slough Museum, Breedon Books, Derby 2003
- ^ https://studywiz.herschel.slough.sch.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.exe/StudywizPortal.woa/1/wa/page?pid=303&wosid=QS47hySg0r65Jq8nttZTNg
